© Jeremy Reper-USA TODAY Sports

The Brooklyn Nets had a slow start against the Orlando Magic , going down 33 to 16 in the first quarter. That was not the Nets’ brand of basketball, as Coach Kevin Ollie and Cameron Thomas wanted them to play with more energy and ball movement.

The optimal Nets performance happened during their recent game against Cleveland. It was an accurate example of Coach Ollie wanting to set up his team with two premier scorers, with everyone else playing with high energy. Unfortunately, that did not happen against the Magic.

“It shows we got some fight, but we gotta stick to our game plan. Push the ball in transition, shooting a lot of threes. Feels like that’s what we did in the second quarter, we played our brand of basketball,” Cam said after losing to Orlando. 

“Shots fell down in that quarter, we just gotta stick to our game plan and not go off the rail when times get tough like that. That’s what we did in the second quarter, we got it down to single digits.”

Cam knows his role within the team

While Thomas has a reputation around the league as an isolation bucket-getter, that is not the only dimension of his game. The 22-year-old has evolved, as he has grown into a decent playmaker with improvements in the pick-and-roll and drive-and-kick actions.

Apart from that, Cam is also becoming more vocal and growing into a leader for the Nets. That is a marked improvement for the former LSU Tiger, as he’s embracing his status as one of the building blocks for the organization.

Cam knows Brooklyn can become a better team

The Brooklyn roster is one of the most underrated teams in the league, as almost every player can contribute. Of course, they struggled this season due to inconsistency and injuries, but the Nets have the potential to be a great team.

Cam will be a significant reason behind the success, as he keeps growing as a star player and leader. With his assessment of how the Nets played against Orlando, he already has a good perspective on the team. It will be up to him and the supporting cast to lead this team to success with how they bounce back from adversity. 

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